


The Princess and Her Guard

by keroseneinablender



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 06:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5655754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keroseneinablender/pseuds/keroseneinablender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A princess gifted with foresight and the common soldier sworn to protect her. Separated by the fates dictated by their lives. But perhaps there is a force more powerful than fate itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Princess and Her Guard

Long ago, on a far away planet, there lived a princess. This princess was a Sapphire and belonged to the court of Blue Diamond. Many gems served this princess, among them a contingent of Ruby guards. One of these guards, a Ruby whose gem could be found on the palm of her left hand, cared for the princess above all the others. Perhaps it had started simply as a Ruby’s desire to defend her charge, but that feeling had deepened and changed over the time that she had known her. But she knew that she could do nothing more than watch over the princess as her guard, for she was a common soldier, a Ruby, and the princess stood too far above her.

The princess, for her part, also found herself starting to care deeply for the Ruby with her gem on her left hand. For some reason, she found this Ruby to be different from the others. For some reason she wanted to spend more time with, to talk with her, to get to know her better. But she also knew that would never be. The princess was gifted with foresight, and saw her entire life plotted out before her. And she never saw a future where she and that Ruby were anything more than master and servant. That was the relationship fate had determined for them.

Then, the princess was called to a planet far from her home. This planet was to be a new gem colony, but some gems had revolted and where opposing these efforts. The princess had been called there to share her visions of the future to aid in ending the rebellion. Because of her nobility, and the danger of the planet she was visiting, the princess had to bring three guards with her in order to keep her safe. She elected to take three Rubies, including the one with the gem on her left hand, stating that their ability to fuse would aid in protecting her.

That Ruby was eager to go. Even though it would only be in the capacity as her guard, as a disposable Ruby meant to protect her, she least got to spend more time with the princess she cared about so much. At least she would be able to help keep her safe on this strange world.

But the princess knew that they would fail. Her visions told her that much. Her physical form would be destroyed in a battle that would end the rebellion, as would the physical forms of two of her guards. Only her favourite would be spared. Despite the gulf between them, this did provide her with some comfort, whatever fate befell her, that Ruby would at least be safe.

Her guards, including the Ruby for whom she was concerned, knew nothing of this. All they knew was that it was their duty to lay down their lives for their Sapphire. And as much as the Ruby with the gem on her left hand might have wished that she might do for her, _be_ more to her, the fate assigned to her as a Ruby prevented that.

As the princess arrived at the planet were the rebellion was occurring, she was struck by the beauty of that world. Truly it was a wonderful place for a gem colony. She found herself commenting on this fact to her dear Ruby, as she made her way to report to Blue Diamond. A shame she was fated to see very little of it.

As they made their way to meet with Blue Diamond, the Ruby with the gem on her left hand accidentally collided with the princess she was bound to serve. This was a grave offence. As a Ruby she was forbidden from ever touching the higher rank gem she protected. But the Sapphire did not care. She simply stated that the collision was fated to happen, calmly spoke to the Ruby with the gem on her left hand about the beauty of the world they were visiting. Talking to her at though they were equals, as she a Ruby, were just as important as a Sapphire.

The princess presented her report on her vision to Blue Diamond. The rebel gems would attack the sky arena. They would destroy the physical forms of seven gems, including her own and that of two of her guards, but the rebels would be captured and the rebellion would end. Even knowing she would lose her physical form in the process, the princess accepted the future laid out in her vision. It was her fate, and there was no changing it.

The guard, the Ruby with the gem on her left hand felt differently. She didn’t want the Sapphire she served to be hurt. Even though she would eventually recover, the Ruby guard didn’t want to see her hurt in the first place.

The princess’ visions had always been right. That Ruby had collided with her on accident, just as she had seen. The rebels attacked the sky area, just as she had seen. They defeated the fused form of her Ruby guards, just as she had seen. They destroyed the physical forms of six gems, including her two guards. There was just one gem left to be destroyed. Rose Quartz’s renegade Pearl stood before her, ready to strike, just like she had seen.

But that Ruby did not want that to happen. So she did something her princess had not foreseen. That Ruby rushed forward to push her out of the way of that Pearl’s strike, not willing to see the Sapphire she cared about so much be harmed.

The princess felt herself disappear. But it wasn’t the disappearance of having her physical form destroyed. It was more that everything that she was, everything that she had to be, slowly faded and merged with something else. But this loss of self, while disconcerting, was not at all unpleasant.

Than the shouting began. The guard looked around at other gems on the sky arena, staring at her…and someone else. The Ruby guard had committed an offence far greater than merely touching her Sapphire. Somehow, she had managed to fuse with her. She ended the fusion as quickly as she could, but not before the distraction caused by her actions allowed the rebel gems to escape.

For the first time in her life, the princess didn’t know what was happening. Her foresight hadn’t shown any of these events occurring. Her physical form should have been destroyed. The rebel gems should have been captured. Instead, they had escaped and Blue Diamond was asking her what had happened, why wasn’t this the future she had told her.

The Ruby saw her princess struggling to understand what had happened, to justify her failure to Blue Diamond, and chose to take the blame herself. The fault was, after all, hers. She, a mere Ruby, had fused with a Sapphire, and in doing so had distracted the gems present and allowed the rebel gems to escape. Blue Diamond declared she would be shattered for this. She didn’t care. She had protected the person who meant most to her, and that was all that mattered. She, a Ruby, didn’t matter. She could be replaced.

The princess disagreed. To her, this Ruby was special. To her, there was no way she could be replaced. And as her guard couldn’t allow her to be harmed, she could not allow her Ruby to be harmed. Even if it meant making a choice without knowing the outcome for the first time in her life, she would protect her Ruby. So she took her hand and ran. Ran from the other gems, from the sky arena, from the only life she had ever known. She leap onto the planet below, exiling herself from the court of Blue Diamond, all to protect her Ruby.

The princess and her guard found themselves on an unfamiliar world, banished from the only lives they had ever known. But they were also free of the fates that had been bound to those lives. They were in exile, but they could finally be together.


End file.
